oldschool1962

Haven't had too many days of snow here this year. We had the one storm in December and the rest have just poofed out before arriving. We seem to be in some sort of vortex between the sea and mountains that basically changes the weather. North of us can get clobbered with all kinds of stuff and even South but for some reason.......more times than not we do escape. Sucks when you are hoping for a good storm for rain and it skips over you. Anyhow, has anyone changed their gas in the tires....from plain old compressed air to nitrogen.......noticed any different effects in the snow? I ask because I did and noticed a difference in the car on dry and wet pavement. It is for the better on both so I hope the law of averages works in my favor. I also noticed an increase in mileage of about 2-3mpg as well. Still a long season ahead. We have seen snow as late as April even in this area. Happened in 2007. Even back in Atlanta March seemed to deliver a couple wallops while I lived there over the last 20-30 years. I don't know but this year for ya'll to our North....it reminds me of the 60's and 70's. There were some very good storms during those decades. Growing up and living in Chicago I remember the winters of '67, 72. 77, 78-79 and even 83 and 84-85 being very cold and filled with snow. Coldest winters I ever experienced were those of 83-84 and 84-85. Seem to remember the temp being 47 below a couple times and that was not the wind chill. We canceled Christmas at my families because it was so cold we didn't want to get stuck on the road. I also remember having an old four-banger EXP with a 5spd that I had to keep running over night to keep it from freezing solid so I could get to work the next day. That was a cold winter and one of my last for years living in the North!!!!!! Then I somehow ended up in NY South of Rochester. Sheesh!!!!!

Egen, I understand your point. It's just my perception with the vehicle but......Florida is a much hotter market for Hybrids given the lack of temp swing and the terrain. I'm not saying we don't have a good number of them here in Central VA on the I-95 corridor (considering we own one of each species...Fusion and Prius....) ;) but given our winters I would say that some are reluctant to make the switch and this has some Dealerships offering incentives or perks to entice folks to get the old model year off the lot. I watch things here too, mainly because I like to see the trend so I can determine when before our warranty is up I will decide to trade up. There were 3 or 4 separate dealerships in the area that had an abundance of 2010 FFH's and they weren't bringing in the 2011's until the others were gone. The dealership I purchased from had 8 as late as October but on my last trip in November....they were gone. Living in many different regions of the country over the last 30 years I would say that it's not uncommon for the "area dealers" to increase incentives over and above what the factory issues. The only markets out of all those where things were as the factory stated were on vehicles that were sought after in that area. I also remember driving to another state to get a deal on a vehicle but the trouble nowadays is that the states have wised up on taxes and you end up getting nailed. When we moved from Missouri to Virginia in 2006, I wished that we had waited to replace our totaled Odyssey until we arrived here but making our way across the country in an Accord coupe was just not in the cards. If we had waited..... we would have saved probably 2 grand out of pocket in the end between taxes and other things especially since in Missouri you do not pay sales tax on the vehicle at the dealership. Payments are made at the DMV.

Eneg, In South Central Virginia we had incentives extended to all Ford Models including the Hybrid but excluding the Shelby. If I remember correctly it was back in Sept-Oct. and the incentive was 0%-60 months or something like 3000.00 cash back on all 2010 models.

The cost of the warranty was on top of the price I mentioned. That falls under the category of what we decided to finance compared to what we paid. This car we financed a chunk because of the negative equity in the 06 Odyssey. I think the cost of the warranty was around 1200.00. As far as the 2000.00 premium over the Camry, you can be the only one to answer that. I can give some thoughts though. We purchased a Prius for my Wife the month prior to buying the FFH. I looked heavily at the Camry and if Toyota would have offered us more than 14,000 for a 06 Odyssey EX RES-Nav we probably would have stuck with Toyota. I liked the new style of the FFH over the Toyota and the more we looked the more it made sense to go with it and we were glad our Dealership was a bit more reasonable with trade. Heck the Black Book was 21,000. on our van and there was no way we were going to settle for less than the 19,500 we did get. Anyhow, the way the FFH performs, or should I say out performs the Camry is worth the extra change in my book. Better gas mileage, better power, nice ride and comfort.......The Camry is nice but it's not the FFH. The only thing I wish is that head room wasn't lost with the roof. We have the sunroof and even though I'm not tall, I have some issues that make the lost space from the roof troublesome. The headliner at the door is like 60grit against my bald head. Doohhh!!! Hehehe akirby, aptos, etc......I like your style and actually....... great comments from everyone on both the car and........... I guess I took a chance on the level of intellect here and wasn't disappointed. It's always nice when people can share ideologies and not get carried away with the "nah, nah, na, boo, boo" approach. Hobby site I once belonged to would fall that way. Anyhow....I wish good conversations would happen more often and I can probably count on one hand the number of "good conversations" I've had in the last 5 years.

I thought I mentioned it already but 502A was the package and we added the 75,000 mile extended warranty. side note to my last comment........ I was not China or any other country bashing. As a Chef I buy many imported items but I know what to expect. Unfortunately I'm the type of person that likes to see Pennsylvania Mushrooms come from Pennsylvania and my beef come from the midwest and not be labled "Product of Mexico Canada and USA." I figure I'm putting me in the car and the food in me?

No one needs anything other than food water and shelter. Beyond that it's want and I'd say most of us here are chronologically old enough where our needs and wants shouldn't hurt us. Especially since most of us grew up at a time when 5-15% was considered a great profit margin. was taught in business that if you take care of your product and your people the profits will follow. The trouble is today we have so many companies doing things in the name of profit....more profits, create profits, drive sales and increase profits, you're fired because of profits, we are eliminating positions to shore up out bottom line (aka Profits) etc, etc, etc, etc, etc........! I went to buy a can of mushrooms for dinner the other day and found that a little 7oz can of Pennsylvania Dutch Mushrooms had to come all the way from China to Colonial Height Virginia and all in the name of profits. Trouble that wasn't the only thing I found. Made me sick! Sheesh!!!!! It's gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. Makes everyone sound more like a 3 year old and that's all I get out of the scenario. Because of this it's difficult at best for many to view profits as anything other than a four letter word especially when profits instead of product and people are the driving force. I and so very many of my friends have no opposition to a company or individual making a profit.....it's when you make profits the "one and only important thing" is where we have a problem. Some will argue the point and say that a business is only there for profits and at one time I would agree. Yet I have become a grown up in the last 30 years and come to the conclusion and understanding that profits are only one aspect of the equation. A business is there to provide a product and or service for the fair exchange of monies or property in return for that product or service. Note the word fair. Just because a few...meaning the upper 2% of everybody......feells that a 30-80% profit margin is fair doesn't make it so. Fair is an average of what all consider not just the upper 2%

$28,985.00 was the price before we added everything else. But please note this was a specific dealership and there have been a couple price increases since. We compared car for car with another local dealer and they were't even close in Sale price or Trade value. Given everything we experienced...all the good and the bad...... I am happy that we chose Haley Ford.

Why not add a reply I thought.....so not to inflame anyone here but I think all the prices across the board are way too high. This is not a reflection of the dealer but of the industry and the way we have placed too much emphasis on cars. That said......it's relative to the cost of things and something I'd rather not get involved with right now. I think all prices are way to high for everything but.......for this I would say we got an exceptional deal when we first bought the car. With the dealer discount (the dealership we purchased used "no haggle" prices for the car) so we started out at 28,985.00. We added in the extended warranty, some negative equity from our 06 Odyssey, and all the little things you get hit with at close and we ended up around 32,896.for a 2010 with a 502a. Not a bad deal all things considered.

For what it's worth....I can't see the value in playing nothing more than Russuian Roulette with the gas gauge. Like some have mentioned, there's just too much that can happen and cause you to damage the vehicle...... damage to the fuel pump, tank debris and no matter how new or old the car si it can and will be present. Doesn't matter if you buy from the cheapest or the most expensive of stations.....their tanks are what causes the issues. Running out of gas sucks. Plain and simple. It's one thing to be new out in the world, trying to make ends meet and squeezing just hard enough to make it to work and back on fumes are days I am so glad are more than 25 years behind me. But.......... given the cost of the FFH I can't believe there are too many out there that are in this situation and as far as a thrill.......just stand on it and negotiate a couple ramp curves at 55-65mph.....now that a thrill. Firm believer that if the tank gets to 1/4 full...... fill it up. Just feel good about having 176 miles to E when it's at a 1/4 tank.

I'd have to say that based off of my experience...all ranting and raving at the time aside.....this is one heck of aa admirable thing to do. It really shows the commitment by Ford to make sure they can identify these issues and have solutions or at the very least answers for people. I've owned quite a few vehicles in my day...actually more than I care to name but I can say that 90% of those vehicles have been Fords. (Honda accoubts for the remaining 10%). What Ford ended up doing for us, a few other things we've seen lately and with hearing this gesture......I'm very happy to say I'm a Ford owner.

Aptos,, Had another poster here send me a pm about the prior vehicle. The original post are buried somewhere in months of posts since then. To quickly summarize things.....no one that I know of every could figure out the issues. That was probably the main reason for the re acquirement. Well that and a Service Manager that could recognize we had issues but couldn't get things replicated. It's my opinion that there was an issue with the computer but since they reacquired the vehicle, I haven't inquired about the old one. That's all water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned so if you are considering the FFH...a vehicle from a company that I highly recommend.....buy a 2011 or drive the Volvo for another year so Ford gets an additional year of production under it's belt. There were some really nice changes to the vehicle throughout the last year or so...some known and some very discrete. Anyhow, We looked at the Camry and I believe we made the correct decision going with the FFH. We purchased a Prius the month before and we made this decision even after the Prius purchase. There were some circumstances that helped this along but if I really wanted to I could have worked on things to make those circumstance disappear. The FFH was and is the way to go. It will be interesting to see what comes of the HEV vehicles over the next couple months or years. Everyone is getting into this and with gas prices once again hovering around or over $3.00 a gallon....we may see some very positive things for us as owners of these vehicles. Just remember, there are always going to be things we as vehicle owners can and will pick apart or wish was different about the vehicles. For the most part, manufacturers will try and adapt things to add these components or characteristics to things but it will take time.

Ahhh haaaaaaaaa. I see. No problem then.

As a society and culture we've thrown too much responsibility on the driver and pedestrians take no blame for anything. It doesn't matter how quiet or loud a vehicle is people seem to be prone to wandering aimlesssly through parking lots, cross-walks,streets and the like not paying attention to their surroundings while texting or playing some assininegame on a phone or whatever. It's like SFO banning happy meals..........It's the parents responsibility to teach their kids. Everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings whether your behind the wheel, on a bike...motorized or not or as a pedestrian. For the remaining hapless losers out there....put down the phone and open your fricken eyes!!

What has been happening lately is the system will make the announcment "you have reached your destination" and the screen confirms this. I power the car off and then when I get back in....the screen is blank. when I hit the map or even the Travel link the system shows a Checkered flag for the destination, even affter all I just mentioned. I hit the destination button and "cancel destination" button is active. Still no bog deal and certainly nothing that will create any issues. Everything functions great except for that little glitch and that's how I am taking it...a litle computer glitch. Anyhow, we just keep motoring along. Headed to either Lynchburg or Newport News next month for swimming district champs so the nav will get a solid workout. That way I can actually see what is happening for when I bring the car in for the oil change at 15k (the dealership mistakenly changed the oil at 5k so I'm off sequence). As far as the injector cleaner goes...I've never used anything like a straight fuel aditive.....always a fuel system cleaner and....... do I wish I had a garage to go out to and fire up my equipment inand even work on the car. Sure mis having a garage. Hopefully one will be in the cards soon.

This past summer I ran into some issues surrounding my lawn and garden equipment and the Ethanol mixed fuels. The little carbs, on both two and four stroke engines, became rather gummed up and basically useless. Basically the corn has a tendency to create serious issues with gumming and some major cleaning is required. This got me thinking lately about the use of a decent cleaner in not only my FFH but the wife's Prius. Normally and when we owned non-hybrid vehicles, I would use these every 5000 miles or for every oil change. But since the hybrid doesn't perform like any non hybrid and oil change intervals are 10.000 miles, should I start using the 5000 mile rule? Now for the quick update on the replacement vehicle. We just crossed over the 10,000 mile mark and not a single symptom, issue or otherwise that presented itself in the first car has come up. I finally figured our the BLIS malfunction was caused by RF interference and this came to mind when I was driving past the munitions recoverey range on the way to swim practice. Happens every time I hit a certain section of the facility and also when I get near a truck with a two way radio so I figure it can't be anything else. I talked about a buck or skip in the old car when I would hover around the 45mph mark. This car has been so smooth I don't ever realize that the car transitions back and forth. Mileage has been horrible but also has been the weather and....... I was having too much fun showing some of the folks that this is not a whimpy hybrid for a while there. Getting back into a more conservative driving rhythm is bringing things back into line and the weather is improving too. The only thing I can report now is that when I use the Navigation, the destination will not clear out of the system when we reach it....even after the car has been tunrned off. Not a big issue at all since we don't use the Nav too often so when I get in for the 15k check-up I'll follow up with my Service Manager. Other than that this car has been a pleasure to own and drive. I also did ask about update and upgrades to Sync....I was told to look for something come May available from the Syncmyride site. Later.

I'm just not sure anymore whether trying to make mpg is worth it or not. I mean..... I get between 38 and 44 consistantly even if I romp on it to show the any number of arses' or local Delbert D.Butts in trucks that are trying to drive over me because I'm trying to be more conservative than most. By the way that's conservative with my money......but by that point it's worth the drop in 2-3 average mpg points just to see the look on their face when you get to the next light. The FFH may not be able to get the hole-shots or grab a gear like I once enjoyed so much but when you get those squirrels and hamsters all wound up.......the car is too much fun to "granny" around all of the time.

Whole heartedly agree with Lee here. Thought I had conditioned myself to not allow this to happen after the first 4-5 times but it happened twice in the last few weeks. All it takes is a quick movement with a slight distraction and you're in "L".

Hey Lee, Not to hijack the thread but since you asked.....Not one single issue that presented itself in the last one has done so in this one. Just crossed over the 7000 mile threshold. Actualy we do get a BLIS error every now and then but it resets itself when I cycle the off and on after stops. Happens about every 2000 miles. I told the Service guys about it when I was in for the 5000 service so they know about it. I have been having more fun in this car. Airing it out so to speak every couple thousand miles. This one is far more responsive than the last. Mileage is holding in the high 30's to low 40's too...that is depending on my foot being leaded or not. Hehehe

I contacted my dealer and explained the use of the system. Mine was actually installed by U-Haul and I opted for the light kit incase I carry something on the luggage rack that blocks the tail lights. Turns out this was a smart move because the cargo carrier is actually wider than the vehicle and ....at least in Virginia.....I need lighted side markers for the carrier. I've had the car into another dealer while on a trip and they mentioned my home dealership made a notation about the use of the hitch. No problems.

Maybe........ the once, thought to be extinct Nauga is back. Thought the 70's wiped out that animal for it's prized "Naugahyde".:finger:.

Maroonhoo, I am certainly no expert with all things FFH or even automotive but something similar happened to me on more than one occasion. I have a couple questions and maybe an answer for you. Did this revving happen multiple times during the day or was it just isolated to a specific trip from point A to point B.? In other words did you put the car in park at any time and then back into drive? Did this happen after you may have touched the shift knob and then disappear the next time you used the vehicle? The reason I ask is because....believe it or not, you may have shifted the car into Low. Remember that Low can be shifted into at any speed and once you start getting over 40 it sounds like a race car but you don't have the heavy drag that you would from being in a low gear like with a conventional transmission. The next time this happens if at all....take a look at the gear shift and see where it is positioned. If it is in low....there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Like I said It happened to me as well. Sometimes when I shifted from Park to drive or reverse to drive or even at a stop light. It's a fine line with only 2 positions in the shift lever and if you held on to the button a just split second longer than normal or grabbed the shift lever while driving or at a stop light.....it doesn't take much and it will fall easily into Low. If it happens and the vehicle is not in Low......then maybe.....and remember this is an uneducated guess.....there is a problem with the switch that controls the gear shift position in relation to the ECVT. Mine was strictly on my part. Hope this helps.

There are a couple "lock picks" available. Here is another link. http://www.coastaletech.com/ We are looking at this one.....but what I would be very interested in is a splitter for the nav screen input. This would allow us to add an additional screen to the rear and just use the existing system to power DVD's for trips. It may not even be possible but hey....ya never know.

It has been my experience that most will mistake the cloud of smoke from accelerating to oil burning. When I worked in a sevice station years ago this was brought to our attention frequently. Most often from those who were very light on the pedal and used the car most frequently around town. Plus........ It's difficult.....at best........ to see what color the smoke is when you are in a hard accelleration moving away from the cloud at hwy speed. It really had to be one heck of a cloud if that's the case. Understand though.........I'm not doubting the poster but chances are it was just carbon build up. Especially since the poster stated that this was the first opportunity the car has been used in a passing situation. If the blue smoke appears when the ICE first cranks over after starting the car after a long wait or sitting over-night or it appears under any form or sort of accelleration....... then I would have to agree it is oil.....but not after one single hard acceleration. There is the rare chance that there is a bad valve seal or possibly the rings didn't seat properly and more likely if the car was beat on from the start or the oil was changed too soon but that would have to be almost immediately after purchase. If the guid;lines of even 3000 or 5000 miles were used instead of 10,000........ the rings should still have seated properly. As far as break-in.......per the manual there is no real break-in period other than not running the car at constant speed during the first .....I think.....1000 miles....or maybe it was 600. I don't have the manual in front of me at the moment so please excuse me if I am mistaken. Let me add this too. If you are burning oil and are with-in your warranty period ....get it to the dealership immediately. Heck.....don't take our word for it and just take it in anyhow to dismiss any doubt you may have. Just don't buy one of those oil additives. They can do more harm than good.

Personally and just my opinion................I don't believe it to be so much of an oil burning situation as much as it is crap in the system....especially the exhaust. I'm a firm believer that if you don't generate any significant RPM's from time to time ...all that low rpm driving leaves the system with carbon and other things building up. This is typical for any car. Personally, I'd just drive it like ya stole it on the rare occasion or use the Hwy and rev it up to merge....again on the rare occasion........ and clean out the system. If it continues and you see a significant increase in oil usage.....take it to the dealer. Again........ Just my humble personal opinion

Jon, How would this void the warranty? Especially if the issue is not caused by the owner and related to the vehicle. I've become a firm believer that anything is possible with all things hybriid....that is given my first experience.